The Makeover
by heyitskristi
Summary: A daughter of Aphrodite wants to give Annabeth a makeover to help her get Percy's attention. Percy is oblivious. Set after the Lightning Thief.


I should have known Lucy, seventeen-year-old daughter of Aphrodite, was up to something as soon as she winked at me from across the campfire one night after we successfully returned the stolen lightning bolt. Instead, I figured that she was winking at Michael, seventeen-year-old son of Ares, who was behind me. I was sitting next to Percy and Grover. Percy had been telling Grover a joke he'd heard from one of the Hermes kids and Grover was laughing and bleating as if it was the funniest thing in the world. I didn't even hear the joke. I was studying Percy. This boy was so strange. If he was really destined to be a great hero like the prophecy said, then why was he telling jokes with a smear of chocolate across his cheek? And how did he even end up with the chocolate on his face? Shouldn't he be a little bit more… serious? Or maybe more intelligent?

I shook my head. One day, I would figure out Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon.

Suddenly, Percy's eyes met mine questioningly.

"You have chocolate on your face," I said, then got up to go find my book on ancient Greek architecture. I knew that back at the campfire, he was hastily trying to rub off the chocolate while Grover was apologizing for not mentioning it before I had.

I chose to read my book near the lake. Hearing the water meet the shore was strangely relaxing. Maybe because it was always constant. There was no other reason. When I reached the part of the book on column structure, I heard footsteps behind me.

"Annabeth Chase," Lucy said. "I thought I would find you here."

I watched her walk up to me and made room for her on the dock. "Hello, Lucy."

She sat down next to me very gracefully. Her long, wavy blonde hair fell into place and her clothes remained perfect. Her eyes were perfectly lined with black kohl. I tried not to think about the way my hair frizzes up by noon and the way my clothes always seem to get dirty. It doesn't matter on the battlefield, anyway.

"What are you doing here?" I asked politely.

"I love the water. Mother was born from the sea. It makes me feel connected to her."

I'd forgotten the story of Aphrodite's origins. She was created from sea foam, supposedly. No wonder all the Aphrodite kids liked to go swimming. I'd just thought they wanted to show off in their bikinis. But I bet the swimsuit thing was the majority of their love for water, though.

"I'm going to get straight to the point. Do you like this Percy Jackson kid?" Lucy asked, smiling devilishly at me.

Okay, wait. What?

Instead of responding, I just rolled my eyes. "Sure, I guess. I mean, he did save us from going to war a couple weeks ago. He's alright. A little dumb sometimes."

Lucy grinned. "Is that all you think of him?"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "What are you planning to do?"

"I was just wondering if you had a little crush on him, that's all. If you did, I was going to help you. I am the daughter of Aphrodite, after all." She studied her perfectly manicured nails.

I didn't say anything for a moment. Instead, I thought about Percy, how he risked his life multiple times to save everyone else, how he knew what he was getting into when he fought Ares and went into the Underworld but still carried on, and how even though he was kind of a klutz, he always managed to do the right thing in battle. Then I thought about his sea-green eyes and how they lit up when he found out his mother was still alive. Then I thought about Luke.

"So what if I did like him, a little bit? What would you do?" I ask hesitantly.

Lucy smirked. "Well, I'd give you a makeover, of course. Percy seems a little oblivious, so the first thing we would try is making him notice how pretty you are."

"Am I not pretty without a makeover?"

"Of course you are, stupid. But boys don't notice things like that. That's why they invented makeup and designer clothes."

"Girls shouldn't have to depend on that sort of stuff for attention anyway. We should be valued for our intellect, not our clothes," I countered.

Lucy laughed. "Yeah, we _should_, but boys are dumb."

I just rolled my eyes. "Whatever, Lucy. I'm not going to take you up on your offer."

She shrugged as a dove landed on her shoulder. She reached up to stroke the feathers on its head. "Hey, little guy. Looks like we've got a feminist in our presence. You know, just because I wear makeup and nice clothes doesn't mean I'm not smart, Annabeth."

That shocked me. I'd never meant to judge her. Suddenly, I felt guilty. "You know I didn't mean—"

"I know. Just think about it." Then she cupped the dove in her hands and stood up, leaving me sitting by the water, thinking about how judgmental I'd just been.

Over the next few days, I felt like Lucy and all her closest siblings were watching me. When I sat next to Percy at the campfire, they smiled knowingly at me. Once, while I was teaching Percy some more Greek, an arrow landed on the table we were studying at and someone yelled, "Look out, it's Cupid!" I tried my hardest not to blush, but Percy just looked mad. They even shoved me into him while we were all sending food to the gods. Percy, being the major klutz that he is, almost sent _me_ into the fire. It was really annoying.

I finally gave up and started avoiding him. The Greek lessons were the only times I sat near him. He tried to talk to me several times, but I told him I was busy. After the fifth time, he looked a little hurt. But the Aphrodite kids had stopped picking on me. The plan was working.

But then it wasn't. I didn't realize how close I'd become to both Percy _and_ Grover. We'd gone through Hades together. Literally. And now I was avoiding them just because some overzealous Cupids were trying to give me a makeover. When I finally said I would hang out with Percy and Grover again, they both looked so relieved that I knew I was a goner. These two were the best friends I'd ever have. And no makeover would change that. Lucy would see the error of her ways. I suddenly knew what I had to do.

That night, I cornered Lucy on the way back to the cabins.

"I'll let you give me a makeover," I told her.

She just smiled knowingly. "I knew it was too hard to resist. We'll start first thing tomorrow morning."

As I watched her rejoin her siblings, I felt more nervous about the makeover than I did about going on the quest.

The first thing Lucy did to me the next morning was bathe me in a sickly sweet perfume. She used so much of it that my eyes watered. No matter what she did to me, though, I knew it put me closer to my goal of the Aphrodite kids losing interest in me. Once I suffered through this new form of torture, they would get bored and leave me alone.

After the perfume dunking, she led me to the bathroom, where she washed my hair in one of the sinks. I tried not to think of Clarisse spitting out her toothpaste earlier in the morning.

"This shampoo is meant for horses, but it works perfectly on humans," Lucy pointed out.

I suddenly missed the cheap shampoo I'd bought at the convenience store down the road.

Once we were done with washing my hair, Lucy and one of her sisters dried it and started to straighten it with a flat iron. With each yank of my hair, I felt myself growing more and more resentful of beauty products. Why did people put so much effort into something that didn't really matter and that they would just have to start over again the next day? It made absolutely no sense to me.

"Alright. Now that your hair is done, we can do your makeup," Lucy said triumphantly. Then, when she saw the sour look on my face, she added, "Since you're so young, we won't put very much on you. Just some eyeliner, mascara, maybe some eye shadow, and some lipgloss. You'll look like a movie star!"

After what seemed like hours, the makeover was over. I stared at my reflection in disbelief. This girl was not me. Her hair, golden and straight, flowed down her back with every strand in place. Her eyes were framed by thick, dark lashes with just a hint of sparkle. Her lips shone with gloss. She was pretty.

"Well?" Lucy asked from behind me. "Do you like it?"

I didn't know yet, but I told her I did, yes, of course. When she beamed at my reflection, I felt bad for not believing in her makeover powers.

After she and a couple of her half-sisters fawned over me, they dragged me to the Aphrodite cabin to pick out some clothes. I tried not to think about how much each item would have cost, and I desperately hoped I wouldn't get mud on them or anything. One of the designers on the tags made me feel sick to my stomach, but one of Lucy's siblings, Stephanie, said, "Don't worry, my dad designed it. I get all this stuff for free."

That didn't exactly make me feel better.

But at least I didn't have to wear a dress.

Finally, they finished using me as a mannequin. Lucy and I were the only ones in the cabin, and she was checking over everything to make sure it was perfect. I was surprised to find that the whole process had only taken an hour and a half. It was still too long, though, and I knew I would never take that much time getting ready, even if it did mean impressing someone.

I told Lucy that, and she just smiled.

"You know, Annabeth," she said, "before I came here, I was pretty miserable. Kids at school always picked on me. I didn't have any friends. My hair was always frizzy and I had a really bad complexion, not to mention the braces. When I found out about Mom, I was so surprised. So many of my brothers and sisters have famous dads, but mine is just this small town guy from Virginia. Apparently, though, he broke lots of women's hearts. He was the star quarterback on his high school football team.

"Anyway, after Aphrodite claimed me and made me beautiful, I realized that if you don't put an effort into your appearance, people won't put any effort into you. If you look like you don't care about yourself, why should anyone else? First impressions are so important."

Reluctantly, I knew she was right.

I sat down between Percy and Grover defiantly. This plan would not work, and everything would go back to normal. Percy was so oblivious, so he would never notice me wearing makeup. He handed me a marshmallow and a stick without even looking at me. I sighed and glanced at Lucy. She moved her head as if motivating me to talk to the idiot. I cleared my throat.

"So, Percy. How are you going to get back to New York on Saturday?" I asked.

"Wha? Oh, uh. I guess I'll get a ride from someone," Percy said, finally turning to look at me. His eyes widened. "Woah, Annabeth. You look different. Did you get a haircut?"

Grover choked on his charred soda can. "You're wearing makeup!"

I rolled my eyes. "Boys are so dumb."


End file.
